diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/swfft/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/swfft/package.py
index 8a46af3ea58..d3bf7e15154 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/swfft/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/swfft/package.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ class Swfft(MakefilePackage):
             branch='master')
 
     depends_on('mpi')
+    depends_on('fftw')
 
     tags = ['proxy-app', 'ecp-proxy-app']